Read Online Out of the Shoebox by Yaron Reshef - Free Book Online Page B

Forest. Adam, Karl's son was caught along with his
father. A speedy trial at the jail of just a few minutes ended with his release
because he was too young, while his father was sentenced to death. Adam did not
survive the Holocaust; he died after the family was sent to the ghetto as the
result of an infection from appendicitis.
    I
never met my Aunt Zelda Halstuch, (Father's sister), nor her son Zigush. They
were both sent to the Janowska labor camp in Lviv and were of the few in the
camp who survived. After escaping the horrors, they immigrated to Colombia and
lived with my Uncle Chaskel. How Zigush survived by hiding in a potato pantry,
I learned from his memoirs which were posted online. He used to share his
memories with students in Colombia on Holocaust remembrance days.
    My
Uncle Eliyahu Finkelman, Loushu, was also "lucky". While Chortkow was
still under Soviet rule he was caught as a young boy, after being ratted out
for hiding food or some other valuables. Loushu, the son of capitalists, was
tried and sent to a jail in Siberia and so sentenced to live while his family
was exterminated. It is hard to imagine what a young man, all alone, would go
through in Siberia. But fate is a fickle mistress and he got to keep his life.
    As
for Aunt Zelda Finkelman-Liebling's story, I knew it well. Her family was sent
to a labor camp from which people would be sent to death camps for
extermination. Her husband Joel, a dentist by trade, treated the camp staff.
Before the camp was liquidated and all its inmates killed the camp commander
allowed Joel to choose who would be allowed to escape with him – his wife Zelda
or his sister. Joel chose Zelda. Zelda and Joel escaped, leaving their family
behind. Zelda's diary, written in their bunker-hideaway after their escape provides
a glimpse into a terrible world full of inconceivable physical and mental
hardships. Half of her diary was lost during the war, but the other half
survived along with Zelda. Zelda and Joel immigrated to the US and had two
children: Mordechai and Linette.
    Digging
into our family history took up a lot of my free time. I felt the need to
create a memorial for my parents' families. I had a collection of family photos
of those who were no longer with us. When I found a website dedicated to the
memory of the Jewish community in Chortkow, founded by Miri Gershoni the
daughter of Chortkow survivors, I decided it was the right place to pay tribute
to my family's memory. I began scanning the photos, making sure I knew who was
who and relevant dates so I could add descriptions to the photos. Once again I
opened the family tree I made that night with Aunt Zelda in New Jersey.
Suddenly each name had a face, I knew how different people were connected to
one another, which ones were friends, and each photo told its own story.
    In
July 2012, my sister Ilana forwarded to me a letter from Miri Gershoni with
questions about our family. The timing was perfect; I had just that day
finished scanning the photos and adding a few words to each one. I contacted
Miri and a few days later we met at my home. It was a fascinating meeting. I
was impressed and moved by the task Miri took upon herself to document and
commemorate the community of Chortkow. I was happy to share everything I knew
of my family, and happier still to make this connection which allowed me to
find out more about them. After a couple of days I organized all my material
and sent it to Miri. I was amazed by her dedication and hard work, as she
uploaded the photos and descriptions the very next day.
    Even
more incredible were the events of the next few days. While Raya and I were on
a trip to Acadia National Park in Maine, I received an email from Miri:
    "Is
Pepe Kramer part of your family? I have a number of photos in Tonka (Tonia's)
Sternberg's collection (on the website) with the name Pepe Kramer written on
them. I'm sending them to you. Tonka Sternberg also has a picture of Moshe
Kramer that is an exact copy of the one